Strong start gives Bradl foundation to build on

The opening day of action at the Gran Premio Iveco de Aragon saw LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl in a strong form, setting the second quickest lap time in free practice.

The German’s best lap time of 1’49.119 was only 0.132s slower than Friday’s pace setter Marc Marquez, on a good day for the Honda contingency in Spain.

Last time out at Misano Bradl scored points for the 10th race in a row, so if he can combine pace with consistency this weekend at the superb MotorLand Aragon track then he should have realistic podium aspirations.

“It was a good first day for us because we achieved a good position and we are very close to the top guys,” said Bradl on Friday evening. “I am very happy with the bike right now as we have the kind of combination of settings which includes our Aragon test set up and Misano set up.”

“We have a good feedback from both rear and front tyres and I can push to the limit so I am satisfied about our pace so far. Let’s see what is going to happen on Saturday. I am pretty optimistic.”